Student-Led Inventions Are Making Waves
Students are leading the way with projects in computer science and energy, efforts that are generating excitement in BVU's School of Science.
Dr. Shawn Stone, professor of physics and computer science, is in his 21st year at Buena Vista University. And he can barely contain himself.
“Our students are incredible,” he says. “I’m really jazzed about our new brand in which we talk about ‘doers,’ ‘makers,’ ‘creators,’ and ‘builders.’ Our marketers have distilled us into something that really makes sense. You can’t believe how much fun I’m having this semester.”
Three student-led projects illustrate Stone’s excitement. The first involves a super-computer using CPUs and GPUs to model solar system formation; the second centers on a glove that offers muscle resistance in virtual reality. (More to come! Watch for updates.)
“At 50 watts, this device would power a boat lift. It could charge your iPhone in a couple of hours. It could power a city block of LED lights.”
Dr. Shawn Stone
The third? We provide a glimpse here: an invention to harvest wave energy off a body of water, be it an ocean, a river, or, in this case, Storm Lake.
“We want to start a company to focus on the harvesting of wave energy, because wave energy is more power dense than solar or wind energy,” Stone says. “We’ve used the flow of waves, horizontally, to power the wheel on a mill, for example. The vertical part of wave energy is something we’ve never really harvested.”
Stone’s research team in the Estelle Siebens Science Center includes BVU senior physics majors David Arona and London VanHorbeck. Together, they comprise the Lake Energy Extraction Project, or LEEP for short.
Arona and Stone built a linear electric generator featuring a magnet moving up and down as waves drive the mass. When it oscillates, the changing magnetic force on the coil creates electricity.
VanHorbeck works to determine optimum mass and spring stiffness for the device which, at present, creates 20 watts of power. By finding the right combination of mass and spring constant, Stone believes they can harness 50 watts, a total he envisions for an improvement patent. The trio will “test-drive” their invention this spring after Storm Lake thaws.
“At 50 watts, this device would power a boat lift,” Stone says. “It could charge your iPhone in a couple of hours. It could power a city block of LED lights.”